Variable-speed-transmission gearing and controlling means therefor.



No. 768,148. PATENTED AUG. 23, 1904.

A T. B. REN-NELL. v A

VARIABLE SPEED TRANSMISSION GEARING AND CONTROLLING MEANS THEREFOR.

; APPLICATION FILED Nov. so 1903. N0 MODEL.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

4 BHEETS-SHEBT 2.

PATENTED AUG'. 23, 19.04.

T. BIRBNNELLJ THEREFOR.

-- IOATION II'LBD NOV. 30, 1903..

b N f/////////////////A VARIABLE SPEED TRANSMISSION GEARING AND CONTROLLING MEANS no uonm..

No. 768,148. PATENTED AUG. 23, 1904. f T.B.RENNELL. VARIABLE SPEED TRANSMISSION GEARINGAND CONTROLLING MEANS THEREFOR.

APPLIO-ATION FILED NOV. a0, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 4, 4 HEBTS-SHBET 3.

- a v v PATENTED AUG. 23, 1904.

. T. BRRENNELL. VARIABLE SPEED TRANSMISSION GBARING AND CONTROLLING MEANS THEREFOR. APPLIOATIQN FILED NOV. 30, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4..

U ITED STATES Patented August 23, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE. s

THORNTON B. R'ENNELL, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

VARlABLE-SPEED-TRANSMISSION GEARING AND CONTROLLING MEANS THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 768,148, dated August23, 1904.

Application filed November 30, 1903 Serial No. 183,123. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known-that I, THORNTON B. RENNELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at the" Therefor, of which the following is a speci-' fication.

My invention has relation to variable-speed-- transmission gearing and controlling means for the same; and in such connection it relates to the general construction and arrangement of such gearing and means for controlling the same.

In a companion application for a patent filed by me under date of July 3, 1903, and serially numbered 164:,119, I have described and claimed a variable-speed-transmission gearing consisting, essentially, of the following parts, to wit: a main power-shaft,an auxiliary powershaft arranged to be coupled directly to or uncoupled from the main shaft, and a transmission-shaft arranged to be coupled directly to or uncoupled from the auxiliary shaft, in combination with gear-wheels splined upon and connected with certain of these shafts, a counter-shaft and gear-wheels arranged'thereon, a means for pivotally supporting the countershaft and its gear-wheels, and a cam-shaft with cams arranged to oscillate the supporting means to bring certain of the gear-wheels in mesh with certain gear-wheels of the auxiliary and power-transmission shafts.

The principal object of my presentinvention is to provide a simple and efiicient means whereby the coupling and uncoupling of the auxiliary shaft to and from the main shaft may be accomplished, the shifting of the cam-shaft to properly shift the gears of the auxiliary shaft and the oscillation of the counter-shaft may be obtained,and the application of a brake to the driven wheel may be regulated after the auxiliary shaft is uncoupled from the main shaft. r The nature and scope of my invention will be more fully understood from the following description, taken. in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof,

in which r I Figure'l is a top or plan view, partly sectioned, of a variable-speed-transmission gearthe same. Figs. 3 and I are enlarged crosssectional views taken substantially on the lines 3 3 and 4c 4, respectively, of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 5 5 of Fig.1. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view illustrating in section the construction and relative arrangement of the driven shaft and the cam-shaft in the casing. for the gearing. Fig. 7 is a detail wheels wherein the teeth are formed to facilitate the meshing of said wheels. Fig. 8 is an end elevational view of the hand-lever and sector for controllingthe variable-speed-transmission gearing and the brake for said gearing. Fig. 9 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of Fig. 8, and Fig. 10 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view illustrating in detail the shaft arranged to be oscillated and to be shifted in and out by the hand-lever.

In thedrawings the variable-speed-transmission gearing illustrated is the same as that illustrated in the companion application filed July 3, 1903,, under. Serial No. 164,119. A description of this gearing follows in detail in order that the construction, arrangement, and operation of the controlling means may be more fully understood. A sectional housing A has its lower section 64 adapted to be supported upon. the running-gear of a motor-vehicle or the framework of an engine or the like. As shown in Fig. 1, in the sectional housing A is arranged at one end a hollow shaft 6, which is positively driven from any suitable source of power (not shown) and constitutes the main driving-shaft of the gearing. This main driving-shaft 6 serves to support one end of' an auxiliary dr-iving-shaftfi-,v the other end of which engages a bushing c of a gear-wheel 0, preferably integral with a transing and of the means for controlling the same embodying main features of my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view, partly in side elevationand partly in longitudinal section, of

e, the gear-wheel e of which is provided with one member of a coupling 5 the other member 6 thereof being integral with the gearwheel 0 of the transmission-shaft 0. This coupling forms the connecting means between the auxiliary driving-shaft b and the transmission-shaft 0, as shown in Fig. 1, which couplings are, however, disconnected from each other as soon as the sliding train of gear wheels 0 and e are shifted toward the right in Fig. 1 for a purpose to be presently more fully explained. The transmission-shaft c is,

provided with a bevel-gear c meshing with a bevel-gear f secured to the housing f of a differential gearing of well-known construction, which gearing actuates the divided driven shaft f in the usual manner. This arrangement of the shafts I), b, and 0 permits of a direct transmission of a high speed of rotation imparted to the main driving-shaft b to the driven shaft f and from thence to the driving mechanism of the vehicle for instance, an automobile where such high speed is most desired without the intervention of an auxiliary drivingshaft and its gearing and without incurring loss in power in such transmission.

Below the auxiliary driving-shaft I) is arranged a bracket 9, movably supported by a shaft g, carried by brackets 0 preferably integral'with the section a of the housing, as shown in Fig. 2. This bracket g carries a shaft/t, to which are secured gear-wheels /t, if, and h The bracket 9 tapers into an arm 5/, provided with a steel shoe 9*, which in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3 rests against a shaft -77, slidably arranged in the lower section a of the housing A. In this position of the bracket 9 the gear-wheel 7L3 thereof, arranged opposite the gear-wheel 0 of the transmission-shaft c, is held out of engagement therewith and in this manner permits the direct transmission of high speed imparted from the main driving-shaft b to the driven shaft f. The sliding shaft 2' is provided with a series of cam-disks z, iiand 91 (see Fig. 1,) arranged a certain distance apart from each other and with a bracket i, adapted to engage the gear-wheel e of the sliding train of gear-wheels keyed to the auxiliary driving-shaft 7). As shown in Figs. 1, 2, and :5, to the shaft i is pivotally secured a link 1;", engaged by the lever-arm 1"".

So far as described the mechanism is precisely the same as illustrated in my previous application for a patent, Serial No. 161,119. The lever-arm 7: in the present invention is carried by a hollow shaft Z', which projects through the casing A and is provided with a crank-arm7 The hollow shaft if is traversed by a rock-shaft 1/1, having outside the casing A a crank-arm m. \Vithin the casing upon the shaft m is secured a forked arm m, adapted to couple or uncouple the clutch d of auxiliary shaft 7/ with the clutch (Z of the main shaft 7), as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 5. The shaft 122. also has a depending rockarm on", connected to one end of a brake-rod m. The brake-rod m at its opposite end is arranged to operate a brake-band 7), surroumling the housing f of a differential gearing (not shown) on the divided driven shaftf. The hollow shaft Z: in its oscillation controls, through the lever-arm vi and link I, the shifting of the cam-shaft 1', and consequently controls, through the bracket 11", the sliding of the gear-wheels c and 2 on the shaft 1), as well as, through the cams i 1' I, the oscillation of the bracket 7, so as to bring the gears It, [L2, and h in position to mesh, as desired, respectively, with either of the gears (5 or The oscillation of the shaft on has a twofold function namely, it first operates the clutch between the shafts 71 and 7/ to uncouple or couple said shafts, and through the crank arm m" and brake-rod m' it serves to apply or release the brake-band p to or from the housing/"" of the differential gear on the driven shaftf to either stop the movement of said shaft or to permit of its being driven by the gear mechanism.

One of the main objects of the present invention is to control the rocking or oscillating of both hollow shaft Zr and shaft'm through a single hand-lever w. To accompplish this object, the crank-arm Kt of the hollow shaft A is connected by a link Zr with a lever-arm A, splined to a shaft 1", as clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 10. The crank-arm m of the shaft m is connected by a link 11/ with one end of a bell-crank lever m, the other end of said bell crank lever on. being connected by a swivel-joint m with the end of the shaft r. The shaft '1" is supported in bearings r, so as to turn as well as to slide back and forth there in. The hand-lever r at its lower end is connected by a pivotal connection w to the shaft 0* and is arranged to oscillate between a guard r and a notched sector 1"",- lixed to the framework A of the vehicle or motor to be driven. The free end of the hand-lever '1' can be depressed and its inner pivoted end w pushed inward, as indicated in dotted linesin Fig. 5), by using the guard r as a fulcrum. in normal position the hand-lever 1' rests in one of the notches of the sector '2', and according to the notch in which it rests the lever r controls I drivingthe oscillation given to the'shaft 1", and conse-' quently through the intermediate connections the oscillation given to the hollow shaft 74 and the shifting movement given to the cam-shaft c. In other words, the movement of the lever 9" from notch to notch controls the connections of the gearing Within the casing A. When the lever-arm r is taken out of or placed in a notch, its lower end is shifted inward or outward to shift the shaft 7* correspondingly. These movements of the shaft r will either uncouple or couple the shafts b and 5 through the bell-crank lever m, link m crank-arm m, and shaft on. A still further movement downward of the free end of the hand-lever r, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 9, applies the brake-band p .to the housing of the difler: ential gear of the driven shaft f.

While in my present invention the throwing in or out of the gears if, 762, and lf with gears e and e is preceded by the uncoupling D said gears may readily mesh when the shaft of the shafts b and b, it is not necessary to operate the cam-shaftc', and consequently gears h, 71 if, and e and 0', when the brake 10 is to be applied. on the contrary, after the uncoupling of the two shafts & and'b a continued or further'movement of the hand-lever 4 applies the brake whether the gears it, W, and 70 and e and eare in mesh or not.

' In Fig. 7 is shown a preferred form of teeth 8 for the gears on shaft h and shaft 5, so that it is swung upward by the cam-shaft 'J.

Having thus described the natureand object of my invention, what I claim as new, and

desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character described, a main driving-shaft and an auxiliary drivingshaft adapted to be coupled to or uncoupled from each other, variable-speed gears arranged on the auxiliary driving-shaft, acounter-shaft 7 having variable-speed gears arranged to meshas required with the gears on the auxlliary' the band-brake to the driven counter-shaft so as to mesh or unmesh said gears, in'combination with ahand-lever shaft having an oscillatory and'an in-and-out movement in its bearings and mechanism connecting the hand-levershaft with the countershaft and with the means for coupling and uncoupling the main and auxiliary drivingshafts, said mechanism arranged so that the oscillatory-movement of the hand-lever shaft controls the'oscillatory movement of the counter-shaft and the in-and-out movement of the hand-lever shaft controls the coupling or uncoupling of the main and auxiliary drivingshafts.

2. In a device of the character described," a main driving-shaft and an auxiliary drivingshaft adapted to be coupled to or uncoupled from each other, an oscillatory counter-shaft,

variable speed transmission gearing controlled by said counter-shaft, a driven shaft and a band-brake controlling the driven shaft, in combination witha hand-lever shaft having an oscillatory and an in-and-out movement in its bearings, and mechanism connecting the hand-lever shaft with respectively the counter-shaft, the coupling and uncoupling means of the main and auxiliary driving-shafts and the band-brake, said mechanism arranged so that the oscillatory movement of the handlever shaft controls the oscillation of the counter-shaft and the in-and-out movement of the hand-lever shaft controls successively the coupling or uncoupling of the main and auxiliary driving-shafts and the application of shaft,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set shaft and means for oscillating said my signature in the presence of two subscribj ing witnesses.

THORNTON B. RENN ELL.

Witnessesi LAURA L; DAVIS, ELMER MARsI- 

